The mysterious life and death of ‘Sunny Tang’, a man who lived under false identities for decades

MS Unsolved: ‘Sunny Tang’ was just one of his many aliases

MS Unsolved is a series that hopes to raise awareness of cold cases in Singapore and generate new leads. If you have any information on the cases, reach out to MS News or the police.

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On 13 July 2022, a man was admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital with severe injuries, the cause of which remains unclear. Despite treatment, he succumbed to his injuries and died.

What followed was an investigation that only deepened the mystery surrounding his identity, leading to more questions than answers.

For instance, none of the papers found on his person matched his description. Here are the details of what we know.

The man was hospitalised with several bone fractures

According to The Straits Times, a resident of Toa Payoh, Madam LMC, was sitting with the man — known to her as ‘Sunny Tang ‘— when she noticed a bruise on his face. He claimed he had gotten it from an earlier fall.

However, the man fell again shortly after and was unable to get up, prompting Madam LMC and a nearby acquaintance to call an ambulance to take him to the Tan Tock Seng Hospital. 

Here, it was found that he had sustained multiple injuries, including bone fractures in his ribs and face, as well as bleeding on the surface of his brain, according to 8world News. Despite attempts to save him, he died on 1 August 2022.

The man was registered at the hospital under the name TKP, according to an NRIC card he provided. 8world’s report says the hospital sent a notice to the address on the ID card to inform Mr TKP’s family that he was in critical condition. However, they received feedback that Mr TKP was fine and was never in hospital.

Puzzled by the inconsistency, the nurse double-checked and found that the patient’s face did not match the picture on the NRIC card. The police were alerted and began an investigation into the deceased’s real identity.

Even his long-term former partner did not know his real identity

The police, when talking to the real Mr TKP and his sister, a Madam TCH, found out that the deceased had had a long-term relationship with Madam TCH. She reportedly met him 30 years earlier, and they dated for 10 years before breaking up. She last saw him in 2020.

During this period, the brother and sister believed his name to be Sheng Chun Hua, or Ah Hua. However, State Coroner Adam Nakhoda was quoted by The Straits Times as stating that this name appeared to be made up as it did not appear in any database the police checked.

The coroner also said ‘Sunny Tang’ was most likely another false identity the dead man assumed after he acquired Mr TKP’s NRIC card. “This was clearly not his name or identity,” he noted.

A POSB debit card in yet another name was also found on the man, and its original owner said he had lost it years ago but never reported it. The owner had no knowledge of the deceased.

Most of the numbers in the man’s recent phone call history were inactive when the police tried calling, or the calls went unanswered. 

One person who was contactable couldn’t provide any more info beyond that he met the dead man, whom he knew as Sunny Tang, at a pub in Yio Chu Kang about one to two decades prior.

Madam TCH said the deceased did odd jobs in the construction industry and would often borrow money from her.

As for Mdm LMC, she first met him in 2022 at a coffee shop, at which time he introduced himself as ‘Sunny Tang’, according to The Straits Times. 

As he later told her he had no place to go, she let him stay at her place a couple of times. Mdm LMC noted that the man was “pleasant” and did not seem to struggle financially.

His real identity remains a mystery

Despite extensive efforts by the police, including checking fingerprint databases in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, the man’s true identity remains unknown. 

Issuing a missing person notice with his portrait also proved fruitless.

No information is available regarding how he acquired the injuries that led to his death either.  According to 8world News, a forensic autopsy ruled out the possibility of a homicide, leaving the cause of his injuries a mystery.

To this day, the case of ‘Sunny Tang’ or ‘Sheng Chun Hua’ remains unsolved, adding to the intrigue surrounding a man who lived a life shrouded in false identities.

Also read: The case of Felicia Teo: Missing student whose fate was only revealed after 13 years

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Featured image adapted from 8world and Google